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Morocco has no desire to “resolve or even engage on the question of Western Sahara through a genuine negotiating process (UN)

Sunday, June 21, 2015

21/06/2015 .- “Morocco has no
desire to “resolve or even engage on the question of Western Sahara
through a genuine negotiating process as called for by the security
council”, highlited a report of the UN Department of Peacekeeping
Operations (DPKO) whose content was revealed on Wednesday June 17 by The
Guardian.

“The Moroccan government has been dogged by allegations of human rights
violations in Western Sahara for years, and the DPKO go as far to
suggest that the cables show that Morocco has no desire to “resolve or
even engage on the question of Western Sahara through a genuine
negotiating process as called for by the security council”, UN report
stated.

According to The Guardian, the cables over Moroccan diplomacy leaked by a
cyber-activist, “reveal Moroccan lobbying to ensure human rights were
not included in the mandate for Minurso, one of the few UN peacekeeping
missions to not have such a mandate. In January 2013, Hilale wrote to
say he had asked a UN official “to make Pillay aware of the importance
of avoiding all engagement on the eventual expansion of the Minurso
mandate to human rights, or on the creation of an independent mechanism
in Western Sahara”.

“The DPKO report writes that this implies the Moroccan government were
keen to argue “that basic peacekeeping functions such as reporting on
developments on the ground and access to all interlocutors do not apply
to Minurso”, same report added.

“Earlier this year, despite calls from Ban Ki-Moon, the African Union,
Human Rights Watch and the US government to give Minurso a human rights
mandate, the UN Security Council voted to renew Minurso’s mission
without the mandate. Hilale, now Morocco’s representative to the UN in
New York, welcomed the security council’s decision” remembered the
London daily.

“Amnesty International told the Guardian that the UN needed to monitor
human rights abuses in Western Sahara. “It is difficult to see the point
of the UN peacekeeping force’s presence while it fails to monitor human
rights violations. It might feel for those facing arrest or torture for
claiming the independence of Western Sahara as if the UN are witnessing
violations while remaining idle,” said North Africa researcher Sirine
Rached”.

Full Article of the Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/jun/17/leaked-cables-morocco-united-nations-western-sahara-house-of-cards